The present invention relates to a composition and process for using it to alter and improve glucose metabolism in companion animals, particularly aging companion animals such as dogs.
Several different conditions are associated with impaired glucose metabolism in companion animals such as the dog and cat. These include diabetes (both insulin dependent type and non-insulin dependent maturity onset type), obesity, geriatrics, and gestation (pregnancy). Another associated metabolic disorder with obesity and diabetes is hyperinsulinemia. Hyperinsulinemia is the presence of insulin at abnormally high levels in the blood. Counteracting the effects of hyperinsulinemia by lowering insulin levels in the blood can help lessen the progression of obesity and diabetes.
Aging has been associated with a loss of glycemic control not only in humans, but in dogs as well. Older dogs have been reported to have attenuated glycemic responses compared to their younger counterparts. Reported causes for this glucose metabolism dysfunction in aging populations include: increased insulin resistance from receptor and post-receptor disturbances, diminished pancreatic islet B-cell sensitivity to glucose, and impaired peripheral glucose utilization. Age-associated increases in body fat deposition may also play a role. In both dogs and cats, glucose tolerance is impaired with obesity.
Several studies have examined the effect of age and glucose metabolism using the minimal model approach. Bergman's Minimal Model (Bergman et al., Am. J. Physiol, vol. 236(6), p. E-667-77(1979) and Bergman et al., J. Clin. Invest., vol. 68(6), p.1456-67 (1981)) quantifies both insulin sensitivity and pancreatic responsiveness in an intact organism. The minimal model approach uses computer modeling to analyze plasma glucose and insulin dynamics during an intravenous glucose tolerance test. Using this model, it has been suggested that aging is associated with a lower glucose disappearance rate, decreased insulin sensitivity to glucose, and a suppressed second phase B-cell response to glucose stimulation.
Starch has been suggested as the primary dietary component most responsible for the rise in blood glucose immediately following a meal (Milla et al., JPEN, vol. 20, p. 182-86 (1996). The term "glycemic index" was defined as a way to comparatively rank foods based on their glycemic response. The glycemic index and dietary content of carbohydrates have been used to explain approximately 90% of the reason for differences in glucose and insulin responses to a meal. However, such studies have focused on altering the amount of starch in a diet. But, in a recent study using young beagle dogs, the source of dietary starch was reported to influence the postprandial response to a meal (Sunvold et al., Recent Advances in Canine and Feline Nutrition, p. 123-34 (1998)). See also, Sunvold, U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,258.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a dietary composition which can alter and improve a companion animal's glucose metabolism, particularly the glucose metabolism of an aging companion animal.